“Hamid Karzai” on The Daily Caller

Afghanistan to back Pakistan if wars with US: Karzai (more)

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Afghan President Hamid Karzai made fun of Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain together in Afghanistan on Thursday, ridiculing comments he made about reporters’ “gotcha questions” on foreign leaders. (more)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — President Hamid Karzai’s powerful half brother, a lightning rod for criticism of deep-rooted corruption within the Afghan government, was assassinated Tuesday by a bodyguard at his home in southern Afghanistan. (more)

In an interview set to air Sunday on CNN during “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” Afghan President Hamid Karzai told host Fareed Zakaria the announcement President Barack Obama made on Thursday night about troop reductions was a welcome one. (more)

BRUSSELS (AP) — The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warned that combat will likely escalate during the spring thaw as Taliban insurgents try to return to areas cleared by the international forces during the past several months. (more)

The Obama administration has not shown us it cares about the persecution of Christians. This is obvious. At a time of rising persecution of Christians throughout Muslim lands, the president has nominated Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook — a “motivational speaker” with questionable qualifications — to hold the critical position of U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. (more)

Last week our puppet show in Egypt ended, but it was a good run. (more)

America’s competitive nature and its obsession with digesting annual reviews is no secret. From the best of 2010 to the worst, everyone with some media exposure gets a chance to be reviewed. However, the White House’s much-anticipated Afghan war review received no accolades. Some even called the review a product of crowd-sourcing rather than an astute summary. (more)

As President Obama prepares to give the nation a status update on the war in Afghanistan Thursday, some in Washington are calling on him to “own” the conflict in a way they say he has not, and to articulate a clearer long-term commitment to the region than he has so far. (more)

As I reported earlier today at FrumForum, Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, has died. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke received telephone calls from the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan as he recovered from lifesaving surgery, correcting a tear in the large artery that moves blood from his heart. (more)

KABUL, Afghanistan, (AP) — After two days of shuttling to U.S. bases across Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates declared Wednesday that Washington’s year-old surge strategy for the war is working and the goal of pulling U.S. troops out of major combat by 2014 can be met. (more)

He might not be the George Washington we were hoping for, but at least Afghan President Hamid Karzai can take a little criticism. (more)

More than 500 suspected Taliban fighters detained by U.S. forces have been released from custody at the urging of Afghan government officials, angering both American troops and some Afghans who oppose the policy on the grounds that many of those released return to the battlefield to kill NATO soldiers and Afghan civilians. (more)

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (AP) — In a rousing holiday-season visit, President Barack Obama on Friday told cheering U.S. troops in Afghanistan they’re succeeding in their vital mission fighting terrorism. But after he flew in secrecy for 13 hours to get here, foul weather kept him from nearby Kabul and a meeting to address frayed relations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai (more)

The Internet Age has given us much to celebrate: finding old friends and making new ones; communicating in seconds what previously might have taken hours or even days, and having breaking news at our fingertips, to name only a few . (more)

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — President Barack Obama says it’s “hard to anticipate” the exact U.S. role in Afghanistan beyond 2014. (more)

A Washington Post interview with Afghan President Hamid Karzai has Washington’s political-media complex buzzing. But our media mavens and politicos should know better: Karzai’s remarks demonstrate nothing more than that he is a wily politician saying what he thinks he must say in order to survive. (more)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the United States must reduce the visibility and intensity of its military operations, especially night raids that fuel anti-American sentiment and could embolden Taliban insurgents. (more)

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has decided to begin publicly walking away from what it once touted as key deadlines in the war in Afghanistan in an effort to de-emphasize President Barack Obama’s pledge that he’d begin withdrawing U.S. forces in July 2011, administration and military officials have told McClatchy. (more)